A Good Example
by Silverflare07
Summary: .post It’s Our Party. After seeing Lizzie and Edwin fighting, Casey comes to the shocking conclusion that she and Derek may be setting a bad example for the two younger sibs. So she’s got the perfect plan to change that... .Dasey.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Life With Derek. If I did, you'd know, because I have no problem going into Dasey territory.

**Title: **A Good Example

**Summary:** .post It's Our Party. After seeing Lizzie and Edwin fighting, Casey comes to the shocking conclusion that she and Derek may be setting a bad example for the two younger sibs. So she's got the perfect plan to change that... .Dasey.

**Author: **Silverflare07

**Dedication: **This one goes to Chibi, because when I told her my idea she laughed her head off and told me that it was the perfect Derek reaction to the Casey-induced situation. And just because she's my bestest friend ever!

**Author's Notes:** The idea for this fic came after seeing It's Our Party. I was watching Lizzie pin Edwin to the floor for teasing her about her boy friend Jamie (I think that's his name) and I thought _Oh god, they're turning into Derek and Casey!_ Of course, Derek and Casey saw their younger sibs fighting and Casey, being Casey, would want to start setting a good example for Lizzie. So, she's going to stop reacting to everything Derek does. And when I asked myself what would happen to Derek when she did that, I thought..._It would drive him nuts._ And thus, you get this! Enjoy!

**Stuff You Need To Know:**

"Speech"

_Thoughts_

* * *

"I have had the worst weekend ever!" Casey McDonald announced as she walked into the school counselor's office.

Paul looked up from his sandwich and sighed. "Derek I assume."

"No!" Casey cried as she sat down in the chair across from his desk.

"Really?" Paul raised his eyes in amazement. "It's not a Derek problem this time?"

"No." Casey repeated. "Well...sort of. But it's not something he did. It us and how we are."

Paul blinked, now thoroughly confused. "What? Maybe you should start from the beginning."

Casey took a deep breath. "Okay. This weekend my parents threw a joint party for Lizzie and Edwin"

"Sounds reasonable."

"Oh yean, totally. But I guess Lizzie and Edwin got cold feet or something. They hid out in the closet until Derek and I were forced to go and talk to them."

"What's so terrible about that?"

"Nothing. But _after_ we had finished talking to them, we found them out in the hallway. Lizzie had Edwin pinned down to the ground and was shaking him and yelling at him for teasing her about her guy friend, who's not her boyfriend."

"All siblings fight once in a while, it's nothing to worry about." Paul assured her.

"Yeah, but they never used to be like that! They have to be learning it from somewhere!"

"Well..."

"That's when it hit me! Are Derek and I like that?"

"Well," Paul struggled to find the right words.

"We are!" Casey concluded, and Paul could see the beginning's of a Casey meltdown. "They're learning this from us! But I don't want to be a bad example for my sister! Oh Paul, what should I do?"

"Well, the best thing to do would be-"

"I know! I'll just stop fighting with Derek! Well," She half laughed, "Derek will never stop fighting but I can stop taking the bait. It's like dealing with a bully." She nodded, a smile blossoming on her face. "That's perfect! Thanks Paul!" She stood up and slipped her back pack over her shoulder. "You always know what to say!" She opened the door and slipped out into the hallway.

Paul blinked, his sandwich still handing limply from on hand. "Sure...glad to have...helped."

* * *

Casey looked up as Derek walked through the front door. She gave him a simple hello before turning her attention back to the movie she was watching. She winced as he plucked the remote from her hand and flipped the channel to a hockey game.

"Der-_ek_!" She growled before remembering her plan. "I-I mean, may I please have the remote back Derek?"

Derek raised an eyebrow at the girl on the couch. "No. And what's with the polite act?"

"It's not an act," She said through gritted teeth. "But I really would like to finish the movie I was watching."

"Tough." Derek laughed. "I'm watching the hockey game."

"Fine!" Casey stood up. "In-(_sensitive jerk!)_ I mean, I'll just watch it later, I have it on DVD."

"Right..." Derek flicked the remote in her direction. "You do that."

Casey glared at him briefly before taking a deep breath and calmly walking away. She grinned to herself as she reached the top of the stairs and mentally patted herself on the back. It was going to be harder than she had expected, but she'd made it through round one.

_Only a thousand and one rounds to go._

She, of course, didn't notice Derek's questioning eyes follow her up the stairs until she was out of sight.

* * *

Derek grinned as he pressed play on his camcorder. Casey had weirded him out slightly the night before with her nice act. He didn't know what she was aiming for, but he was determined to break her before she got it. He had pulled the old 'hide all her things' trick late last night with Edwin's help. It was old and overused, but it got Casey every time. He'd set up the camera to catch her reaction as she walked down the stairs, since he'd had to clear out of the house himself. He heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs and grinned, turning his attention to the video.

"_Morning mom." Casey greeted her mother, chipper as usual._

"_Morning..." Nora trailed off as she noticed her daughter's attire. "Um, why are you wearing one of Derek's shirts."_

"_Oh, this?" Casey tugged at the short sleeve-long sleeve combo t-shirt of Derek's. It was similar to the one she had worn the first time he'd pulled the prank on her. "I just didn't feel like dressing up today. I had a late night but I don't really own any slacker clothes so I borrowed some of Derek's."_

"_Oh." Nora nodded. "Well you look very slacker-ish today."_

"_Thanks!" Casey beamed at her mother, a short of triumph shinning in her eyes._

Derek looked at the screen in disbelief. She...she hadn't freaked out at all! She hadn't even ratted him out! It...hadn't even bothered her! He sat there, frozen in place, as he watched the frozen image of Casey's smiling face.

_What in the world is going on?!_

He was in the same spot when Edwin came to get him for dinner an hour later.

* * *

Casey walked down stairs the next morning, glad to be back in her own clothes. She hadn't seen Derek at all last night and was almost disappointed. She'd been looking forward to rubbing her victory in his face. But no matter, she'd defiantly see him at breakfast. She'd come from dance practice to find all her stuff back where it belonged. He hadn't made her search for it. That meant she was getting to him. _No!_ She reprimanded herself. _This is about setting a better example for Lizzie, not getting back at Derek._

She grinned as she walked into the kitchen and found Derek eating a bowl of cereal, looking more sullen then usual. _Of course if it just happens to come as an added bonus..._

She sat down at the island with a bowl and pulled the cereal towards her. "Morning Derek!" She chirped, sounding extra happy just to annoy him.

"Morning." He grumbled.

"You don't look so good," she told him, sarcastic sympathy oozing from her voice. "Did you have a rough night?"

Derek glared at her, but she simply smiled.

Yes, Casey McDonald decided, things were looking up.

* * *

End chapter 1! This is going to be very short, and will move more like an episode would. It's only going to be four chapters because it's basically me still getting used to writing for these characters.

R&R!

Come on, send me a smile!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Life With Derek. If I did, you'd know, because I have no problem going into Dasey territory.  
**Title: **A Good Example  
**Summary:** .post It's Our Party. After seeing Lizzie and Edwin fighting, Casey comes to the shocking conclusion that she and Derek may be setting a bad example for the two younger sibs. So she's got the perfect plan to change that... .Dasey.  
**Author: **Silverflare07  
**Dedication: **This one goes to Chibi, because when I told her my idea she laughed her head off and told me that it was the perfect Derek reaction to the Casey-induced situation. And just because she's my bestest friend ever!  
**Author's Notes:** The idea for this fic came after seeing It's Our Party. I was watching Lizzie pin Edwin to the floor for teasing her about her boy friend Jamie (I think that's his name) and I thought _Oh god, they're turning into Derek and Casey!_ Of course, Derek and Casey saw their younger sibs fighting and Casey, being Casey, would want to start setting a good example for Lizzie. So, she's going to stop reacting to everything Derek does. And when I asked myself what would happen to Derek when she did that, I thought..._It would drive him nuts._ And thus, you get this! Enjoy!  
**Stuff You Need To Know:**

"Speech"

_Thoughts_

* * *

"You will not believe how well things are working!" Casey exclaimed as she walked into Paul's office.

Paul looked up from his work. "Working? Oh! You mean you're 'be a better example' plan."

"Yeah. I've managed to take everything Derek's thrown at me with a grin. It's driving him nuts!"

"And setting a better example for Lizzie, right?"

"Oh, yeah, totally." Casey assured him in that breezy tone that told him she hadn't even thought about it since she came up with the idea a week ago.

"Everything's been going so much better too." She smiled. "I'm not as stressed out, and as a result my school work's been easier than ever. And I've stopped tripping as much! I was even flirting with that cute boy Max at lunch today!"

"And all of this is because you've stopped fighting with Derek?"

"Yeah. I guess I was just so worried about beating Derek at everything that I didn't have time to relax."

"Maybe you should clue Derek in on this little plan. He may want to set a better example for his brother too, you know."

"Derek? Set a good example? As if." Casey scoffed. "The only example Derek sets is what _not_ to be."

Paul nodded skeptically. "So we're not going to tell Derek."

"No." Casey laughed. "And miss watching him squirm when I don't freak out! No way!" She stood up, "Thanks for listening."

"No problem. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Actually..." Casey bit her lip. "I thought I might not come tomorrow. Since things have been going so much better, I don't think I'll need to come every day."

"Oh," Paul nodded. "Of course. I completely understand. I'll see you when I see you then."

"Great! Thanks Paul!" And Casey was out of his office.

"Well," Paul concluded, as he looked at the door Casey had just closed, "at least, she is setting a good example for her sister...sort of."

* * *

A week! It had been a week! Seven days! One hundred and sixty eight hours! Ten thousand and eighty minutes! Casey hadn't so much as looked at him unless it was necessary. Everything he had tried to do had just rolled off her back. Every prank was met with a smile. Every rude comment was met with a laugh and a '_Whatever you say, Derek._" Every disgusting noise was met with nothing.

It was driving him nuts!

"Stupid Casey and her stupid mature attitude! Why can't she just freak out and let everything go back to normal!" He ranted to himself as he walked down the stairs, hoping that some hockey would take his mind of his stepsister.

"Derek?" Derek turned to find Nora walking towards him from the kitchen. "Dinner's almost ready and Casey's still at Emily's. Would you mind setting the table?"

Derek was about to refuse when he had a brilliant idea. This would get a reaction out of Casey for sure. He was willing to bet his reputation on it. "Sure Nora." He called to his stepmother. "I'd loved too."

He grabbed the plates, putting one at each place at the table. He grabbed the silverware next and threw a fork, knife, and spoon next to each plate. Except Casey's. He smirked and placed her spoon next to his, where she would be sure to see it.

He was going to beat Casey, he just knew it.

* * *

Casey walked into the house and was greeted with the smell of what promised to be an excellent dinner. She shrugged out of her coat and hung it up before wandering into the dining room. Her mother looked up from the bowl of pasta she was placing in the center of the table.

"Perfect timing Case, we're just about to eat."

On cue there was the sound of a stampede, and four hungry kids came rushing into the dining room and sat down in their respective places. George walked in a few seconds later and they all settled down to enjoy the dinner.

It was a relatively peaceful meal for the McDonald-Venturi family. The past few meals had all been relatively quiet, now that Casey and Derek seemed to have stopped fighting. Everyone was waiting for the bomb to go off, unsure of when it was coming, but knowing that it was well overdue. And it did come, in the form of dessert.

"Ice-cream!" George called as he and Nora brought out bowls and placed them in front of their children.

"YEAH!" Marti shrieked, and wasted no time in digging into her treat.

"Awesome!" Edwin cried as he copied his sister. Even Derek seemed extremely pleased with the dessert.

"Thanks Mom." Casey called, grinning as she reached for her spoon. "Hey..." she felt her hand grasp empty air. "Where's my spoon?" She looked around the table and found that Derek had an extra spoon by his bowl. "Derek, could you hand me the spoon please?"

The entire family looked up; this was the most they'd heard Casey and Derek say to each other in almost a week.

"Sure, _sis_." He told her, smiling in a sickeningly sweet way. "Let me get that for you." He picked up the spare spoon and lifted it up...

...and stuck it in his mouth.

Everyone stared in shock as Derek made a show of getting the spoon as full of his spit as he could manage. When he was satisfied he took the spoon out of his mouth and held it out in Casey's direction.

"Here ya go Case." A bit of saliva dripped off and hit the table.

Casey opened her mouth and everyone prepared themselves for the shrieking that would ensue.

"Please don't do that Derek, it's very unsanitary."

Everyone's shocked gaze turned to Casey, and Marti opened one eye, half expecting the screech to still come. But Casey calmly plucked the spoon from Derek's hand and walked into the kitchen. They could hear her drop it in the sink, and she returned moments later with a new spoon from the drawer.

"AGH!" Derek cried as he stood up and stormed up the stairs.

There was a shocked silence until: "I wonder what he's so mad about?" Casey asked, smiling gleefully as she took a bite of the ice cream.

* * *

Edwin knocked uncertainly on Derek's door. He could hear his brother pacing from inside the room and knew that something must have been bothering him a lot. There was no reply, so he took the initiative to open the door and let himself in. Derek was indeed pacing and he looked almost as bad as when he'd been conflicted with feelings of 'doing the right thing'.

Edwin sat down on Derek's bed and waited for his brother to notice his presence. Seven minutes later he was done waiting. "Derek!"

"Huh?" Derek looked up and noticed Edwin for the first time. "Ed?"

"Hey Bro," Edwin stated casually. "Something up?"

Derek scoffed. "No." Edwin raised an eyebrow of disbelief. "Please Ed, what makes you think something's bothering me?"

"Well you're still pacing for one thing." Derek immediately stopped all movement. "You stormed away from dessert, and it was ice-cream." Edwin added as he saw Derek open his mouth to argue. Both boys knew Derek had a sweet tooth for ice-cream. "And, I get the feeling you're going to start flinching every time someone says Casey's name."

"What? Why would I do that?" Derek asked, while flinching.

"Come on Bro," Edwin gave him sympathetic look. "What's going on?"

"It's Casey!" Derek finally caved and told his brother. "No matter what I do it doesn't seem to bother her! I've tried everything!"

Edwin looked confused. "So...you're freaking out because Casey's _not_ freaking out about your pranks?"

"Ye-es!"

"I don't get it," Edwin shrugged. "What's the big deal? Why do you care if she's bothered by your pranks?"

"Because!" Derek cried exasperated. "She's not paying attention to me!"

* * *

Tada! Chapter 2 is here! I hope you guys liked it. There are only two more chapters to go.

R&R! Come on, send me a smile!


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Life With Derek. If I did, you'd know, because I have no problem going into Dasey territory.

**Title: **A Good Example

**Summary:** .post It's Our Party. After seeing Lizzie and Edwin fighting, Casey comes to the shocking conclusion that she and Derek may be setting a bad example for the two younger sibs. So she's got the perfect plan to change that... .Dasey.

**Author: **Silverflare07

**Dedication: **This one goes to Chibi, because when I told her my idea she laughed her head off and told me that it was the perfect Derek reaction to the Casey-induced situation. And just because she's my bestest friend ever!

**Author's Notes:** The idea for this fic came after seeing It's Our Party. I was watching Lizzie pin Edwin to the floor for teasing her about her boy friend Jamie (I think that's his name) and I thought _Oh god, they're turning into Derek and Casey!_ Of course, Derek and Casey saw their younger sibs fighting and Casey, being Casey, would want to start setting a good example for Lizzie. So, she's going to stop reacting to everything Derek does. And when I asked myself what would happen to Derek when she did that, I thought..._It would drive him nuts._ And thus, you get this! Enjoy!

**Stuff You Need To Know:**

"Speech"

_Thoughts_

* * *

Edwin blinked at Derek's uncharacteristic nervous fidgeting. He wasn't sure what shocked him more, what he had just heard, or the fact that Derek had just admitted it without any real struggle. Everything his brother had told him since he'd entered the room whizzed through his head, along with any interaction between Derek and Casey that he could recall in his stunned state. He suddenly wished that Lizzie were in the room with him so that he could have someone to compare notes with. He was defiantly going to have to call a secret meeting in the game closet when he was done with this.

"So...um..." Edwin groped blindly for words that would help the situation and not get him beaten up. "So you...don't like it when Casey's not paying attention to you?"

"YES!" Derek cried exasperated and fell into the chair by his computer with a thump.

"And you...prank her in order to gain her attention?"

Derek didn't bother to respond. He just glared at the computer screen in front of him like it was the cause for all his misery. Edwin took a deep breath and prayed that Derek wouldn't hit him too hard for what he was going to say next.

"What? Are you suddenly a school boy with a crush?"

Derek's head snapped up and he glared at Edwin, daring him to continue on. "NO!" he growled, hoping he could scare Edwin into just dropping the subject.

But Edwin was having none of it. He was on a roll tonight, and he planned to keep on rolling! "So you want her attention because..." He trailed off, letting Derek, in his anger, finish the sentence for him.

"Because, otherwise she'll give it to Sam or _Max_!" He spat out the last name with disgust.

Edwin raised an eyebrow, a smirk of triumph sliding across his face. "Really?" Derek's eyes widened with realization and he began to stammer a denial. "Face it bro, you've got it bad, _for Casey_."

"Take that back!" Derek growled dangerously, but Edwin just laughed lightly.

"No can do, Derek. You've got to face the facts; you have fallen, hard, for Casey McDonald."

Derek groaned and sunk farther into his chair, half wishing he could beat Edwin for making such outrageous suggestions, and half wishing said outrageous suggestions weren't true.

"Okay," Edwin nodded his head encouragingly. "Since that's obviously the most acceptance I'm going to get from you, the question now becomes: what are you going to do about it?"

His only response was another groan and Derek's headphones as they came flying at him. He ducked and took that as a sign that it was time to leave. "Okay, okay, I'm going." He hopped off the bed and opened the door. "I'll just let you think about things for a while."

He had to shut the door very quickly in order to miss being impaled by a CD case.

* * *

"Okay, okay, I'm going." There was rustling and the sound of footsteps heading towards the door.

Mouth open in shock, Lizzie McDonald crept quietly towards her sister's room. Boy did have something to tell Casey.

* * *

"Paul!"

Paul looked from his salad as Casey burst into the room, sounding like the world had just fallen apart. "Casey! What's wrong? I thought you weren't coming back today?"

"I wasn't going to but, Paul! Everything is suddenly very wrong!"

Paul raised an eyebrow at the girl before him. She was acting a little too dramatic, even for Casey. "Why don't you start by telling me the problem?"

"It's Derek!" She all but cried.

"Really? I thought things were going okay between you two."

"They were," Casey sighed. "I was ignoring him and he was going crazy. But then I found out why he was going crazy."

"Which is...?"

"He likes me!"

Paul choked on the bit of salad that he had finally decided was safe enough to eat. "A-Are you sure? Did he tell you this himself?"

"Well...no and not in so many words." Casey bit her lip and looked down. "But Lizzie heard him talking to Edwin about it last night."

"What did he say exactly?"

"That the reason he always bothers him is so that I'll pay attention to him."

Paul raised an eyebrow, that sounded a little immature, even for Derek. Why would Derek steal her attention with pranks when he could just be nice to her? "That's no reason to suspect-"

"And he doesn't want my attention on Sam or Max!"

Oh. Because he probably thought she only viewed him as her brother and nothing more. "Well..."

"And I don't even know what to do about it! I mean, I'm not even all that sure _what_ I should do about it!"

"Well, you could-"

"I mean, how do I even really feel about Derek?"

"That's a good qu-"

"I'll admit he can be pretty annoying, but when we first met I did think he was pretty cute. But our parents _are_ married."

"Speaking of your parents, how would they fe-"

"And normally Derek is really rude and disgusting, but he can be very sweet when he wants to be. Like that time he bought me a cell phone for helping him with his, uh, school problem."

"It's good to consider all angles bu-"

"And then there was that whole mess with Scott, Lizzie's soccer coach. Edwin accidently let slip that Derek was a total wreck over that whole fiasco, and he was really sweet to tell me the truth and make Scott apologize."

"That was very nic-"

"Not to mention the Babe Raider incident. I know he pretend to gag when I came down the stairs in those clothes, but I could feel him watching me throughout the day, which means he likes the way I look, which is nice."

"True but it's not all about loo-"

"And every time we fight, it's like there's something more there. Like this energy or spark that neither one of us really wants to recognize, so we fight so no one will notice it."

"Well, that could mean several diff-"

"Oh my god!" Casey's eyes widened. "I do like him. Now I just need to figure out what to do about it. Oh, I can't believe I didn't see it before, I'm so clueless." She jumped out of the seat and made a beeline for the door. "Thanks Paul! Talking to you always helps."

And then, she was gone.

"...Just doin my...job..." He said to the empty space before him, knowing full well that that was the first full sentence he'd gotten out in about ten minutes.

* * *

And here's chapter 3! Now, as soon as I figure out how I want to get Casey and Derek together you'll get chapter 4! Sorry this took so long to upload but I didn't want to upload it until I had a good idea of how I wanted to get Casey and Derek together. But then a loving friend told me coughthreantendcough that I should upload chapter 3 anyways so you all could read it. Hope you guys like it!

R&R! Come on, send me a smile!


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Life With Derek. If I did, you'd know, because I have no problem going into Dasey territory.

**Title: **A Good Example

**Summary:** .post It's Our Party. After seeing Lizzie and Edwin fighting, Casey comes to the shocking conclusion that she and Derek may be setting a bad example for the two younger sibs. So she's got the perfect plan to change that... .Dasey.

**Author: **Silverflare07

**Dedication: **This one goes to Chibi, because when I told her my idea she laughed her head off and told me that it was the perfect Derek reaction to the Casey-induced situation. And just because she's my bestest friend ever!

**Author's Notes:** The idea for this fic came after seeing It's Our Party. I was watching Lizzie pin Edwin to the floor for teasing her about her boy friend Jamie (I think that's his name) and I thought _Oh god, they're turning into Derek and Casey!_ Of course, Derek and Casey saw their younger sibs fighting and Casey, being Casey, would want to start setting a good example for Lizzie. So, she's going to stop reacting to everything Derek does. And when I asked myself what would happen to Derek when she did that, I thought..._It would drive him nuts._ And thus, you get this! Enjoy!

**Stuff You Need To Know:**

"Speech"

_Thoughts_

* * *

"Okay," Edwin turned on the light in the game closet and addressed the girl before him. "We know the situation," 

"Derek likes Casey." Lizzie supplied.

"Right. Now we just need to figure out what to do about it."

"Do about it?" Lizzie asked.

"Of course! As the middle children it's our job to intervene in the older child's daily life."

Lizzie raised an eyebrow. "It is?"

"Yes!" She continued to look at him, eyebrow raised. "Okay, no. But this is just too good an opportunity to pass up! Do you realize that we have blackmail on Derek _for life_! We have to take advantage of this!"

"I dunno," Lizzie looked unsure. "If he really likes her, isn't kind of mean to use it against him?"

"Mean?" Edwin looked incredulous. "After all the stuff Derek has done to me? And you're worried about being mean?"

"Well..." She seemed to be debating. "Maybe we could just give him a little time to adjust to the fact that we know. And that Casey knows."

Edwin's eyes bugged. "Casey knows?"

Lizzie looked guilty. "I might have mentioned it to her..."

"Wow, poor Derek..."

"What! You just wanted to blackmail him for it!"

"Fine, fine. We'll wait and let him adjust _and_ to see what Casey's going to do about this. Deal?"

"Deal."

They did their secret hand shake and then left the closet, each going their separate ways until further notice.

* * *

"Hey Georgie?" George looked up from the book he was reading to Marti and glanced at his wife. 

"Yeah?"

"Have you noticed anything _weird_ going on with the kids?"

George looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking his head. "I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, and why question the peace and quiet?"

Nora nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right." She smiled, her mind at ease.

"Of course I am." George went back to reading the fairy tale to his youngest child.

Beside her father, Marti rolled her eyes, grown-ups could be so clueless.

* * *

Casey paced back and forth in her room, wondering just what in the world she was doing. It had been three days since her eventful conversation with Paul and her discovery of her feelings for her step-brother. She's spent these past three days avoiding him like the plague (not a hard feat considering he seemed to be avoiding her as well) and trying to make some sense of the mess she found herself in. It had taken the better part of those three days, but she felt a little more level headed about the whole situation. 

She had come to terms with her feelings for Derek and might have even figured out a way to tell him, without telling him. If that made any sense.

She looked at herself in the mirror one last time. Not to make sure that she looked alright, but to make sure she was still real and sane and honestly going through with her plan. She heard Derek and Sam strike a few cords on their guitars, warming up for practice.

Casey sighed and picked up the sheets of paper from her desk. There was no time for second thoughts; D-Rock was waiting downstairs for its lead singer so they could begin practice. Casey took a deep breath and opened her door, stepping into the hallway and making her way towards the stairs.

It was now or never, and Casey McDonald was about to do the craziest thing she'd ever done.

Sing a song for Derek Venturi.

* * *

Derek swallowed audibly as his step-sister came down the stairs, looking extremely nervous. This was officially the longest he'd been in a room with her since he had freaked out on Edwin after dinner, and it had only been half a minute. She walked calmly over to her band mates and handed them each a sheet of music-sans words. 

"If you don't mind," She bit her bottom lip, a nervous habit she'd picked up a while back, "I'd like to try a new song I wrote." She saw their looks. "Don't worry, it's better than the other one, and if you don't like it we can throw it away."

Reluctantly the three boys nodded and Ralph began to hit a steady beat, Derek and Sam joining soon after. Casey smiled tightly before taking one more breath, closing her eyes, and beginning to sing.

"_Once upon a time  
Is always how the story starts  
Boy meets girl  
Both feel something in their hearts  
There's a witch with an evil dragon  
Or boy makes mistake  
And girl is always understandin'"_

Derek found himself bopping his head to the beat. It wasn't half bad considering her last venture into the song writing business. It was something he could even picture himself listening to on a regular basis.

"_But once upon a time  
For us, wasn't like that  
No one ever  
Rolled out the welcome mat  
Ever after was the  
Last thing on my mind  
But as we go on  
It's strange how I find"_

The beat changed for the chorus and Derek glanced over at Sam and Ralph. Both were smiling in approval.

"_That you're just tryin'  
To get my attention  
So gonna let you know  
Exactly what I'm thinkin'_

_Don't worry  
There's no hurry  
Cuz no matter what you do  
Baby my eyes are you"_

Derek's eyes widened in surprise. That mark had hit a little too close to home for him, but he brushed it off as coincidence. After all, what else could it possibly be?

"_You're stupid antics may  
driving me crazy  
But you're the only one  
who ever made me feel this way  
Next time I see  
that look in your eyes  
Not gonna fool around  
I swear, I'm gonna recognize"_

Derek almost messed up the cord he was supposed to be playing from shock and having to deal with the unfamiliar sensation of having his jaw drop.

"_Cuz maybe you and I  
have somethin' goin' on  
And if that's true then  
baby it won't be long  
'Til you and I  
can come together  
And we stay  
that way forever"_

Both Sam and Ralph were really getting into the song, both grooving to the beat with their respective instruments. But all Derek could do was stand there, wordlessly gaping like a fish while his body automatically played his designated part.

"_So if you're tryin'  
to get my attention  
Goin let you know  
exactly what I'm thinkin'  
_

_My eyes are on you!"_

Derek was frozen in place, completely forgetting about the end note he was supposed to hit. Casey turned to face Sam and Ralph who whooped in approval, breaking out into applause as she reluctantly smiled. Then she turned to Derek, her face shifting into nervousness.

"Well...?"

_Say something!_ Derek's mind screamed at him but his body wasn't responding.

"Derek?" She asked again, beginning to look even more nervous if that was possible.

_Nice song Casey, _he heard himself say in his head, _it doesn't happen to be about me, does it?_ But his body was not cooperating, and all he could do was gap at his step-sister, open mouthed.

"O-kay then," she seemed to realize that she wasn't going to get a response from him anytime soon and slowly began to back up. She gave one more quick thanks to Sam and Ralph before turning and racing towards her room.

"Casey!" He finally seemed to snap himself out of his daze and raced after her.

He managed to catch her door just as she was slamming it shut. "Wait, Casey." She turned at the sound of his voice. "Sorry about that," He told her while slipping inside and closing the door behind him. "You just caught me off guard."

She looked up at him and smiled weakly. "So... are you going to tell me what you thought of my song?"

"Only," Derek swallowed again. "Only if you tell me what it was about."

Casey looked up and searched his face, filled half with hope and half with disbelief. She took a deep breath to calm herself and repeated her mantra from earlier.

_It's now or never._

* * *

Sam was messing with his guitar, trying to tune it even though it didn't need it. Ralph was attempting to twirl the drum stick in his hand and not drop it. The silence was thick because neither boy was sure exactly what to say. Both Derek and Casey's departure had been so abrupt that neither boy knew what to make of it. 

"So..." Ralph decided to break the silence after dropping his drum stick for the fifteenth time, "Do you think we should go check up on them?"

Sam looked at the ceiling, as if trying to see into the room above them. It had been too quiet, and Derek and Casey had been acting so strangely lately... "We should just give them their privacy."

There was silence for a few more minutes before there was an audible **thump!** from the floor above them.

Ralph glanced questioningly at the ceiling. "Are you sure we shouldn't go make sure they're okay."

Sam, who had a pretty good idea of just what was going on, shook his head. "Nah dude, we're probably better off not knowing."

Ralph shook his head. "It's good thing Lizzie and Edwin aren't here. They're setting a _really_ bad example."

* * *

There's the end of my fic! I hope you guys liked it. I want to credit Chibi for helping me figure out to finish this fic! And I want to apologize for the crappiness of the song. I mumble mumble Er, that is, I wrote it myself. And I am so not a song writer so, um, sorry if it sucks! And I'll leave what the **thump!** was up to you. But just for the record, I didn't have anything particularly nasty in mind when I wrote it. 

And the part with Nora and George and Marti was just something silly I threw in becuase I realized I hadn't written about them hardly at all this entire fic, and I just love Marti's perceptiveness (Snott!) and George and Nora's cluess parent thing.

R&R! Come on send me a smile!


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